Vegetarian Miso Mushroom Ramen with Bok Choy

This vegetarian ramen recipe was created in partnership with my friends at Pacific Foods. Thanks as always for supporting the brands that make all my healthy adult Cup-o-Noodle meals possible!

I often talk about how my mother’s crunchy granola ways turned me into a glutton for the forbidden sections of the grocery aisle. Which were basically all of the ones in the center of the store.

I stopped arguing with her once I realized I could just go over to my friend Anna’s house and eat whatever I wanted. If it came in a plastic package and contained Red number 8 dye, or required only a 30 second trip to the microwave to become edible, Anna had it.

We used to take a TV dinner tray and load up the entire surface with a combination of Dunkeroos, pizza bagel bites, fruit roll ups and Double Stuf Oreos. I loved this food with a fiery passion. The synthetic flavors blew my mind. The convenience fascinated me. But I think deep down I was grateful that I didn’t have unlimited access to it in my own pantry drawers.

It reminds me of this article about a guy named Chad who likes to drink champagne in the bathtub at 8am and eat French bread pizzas for every meal when his live-in girlfriend is out of town. It’s a good thing that not every day is a “Chad day.” And it’s a good thing my childhood only included a Phoebe and Anna day once a week.

Surprisingly, once I was free of my mother’s pantry and off on my own at college, my food swings landed more on the side of my household than Anna’s. I enjoyed many a treat from the library vending machine, but my dorm remained unburdened by snack food, save for the whole pies that my Freshman year roommate took to stealing from the dining hall.

The one exception was Cup-o-Noodles.

With their dehydrated carrots and powdered bouillon, these ramen cups fascinated me in all the same ways that the best pantry food at Anna’s did. But there was also the cultural allure. Ramen cups were what broke adults thrived on. And therefore, something that a privileged child would naturally gravitate towards.

I am officially an adult now. And even though my chia seed consumption should render me such, thanks to Charlie, I’m still not broke. In fact, there were a few moments during The Wellness Project when I saw that with each passing year, and every healthy baby step, I was slowly realizing the universal horror of becoming my mother. Today, when I look at my pantry, I see that the metamorphosis is almost complete.

You can tell simply by this vegetarian ramen recipe.

During busy weeks when I’m craving comfort, I still turn to healthy noodle soup bowls that will be ready in a flash. Today, that speed is 15 minutes versus 15 seconds, with some cooking involved and a few fresh add-ins.

This vegetarian ramen recipe uses just their mushroom broth, a splash of sriracha, and a few spoonfuls of fresh miso paste. If you omitted the mushrooms or added them into the hot broth raw, you could in theory make the whole thing just by using the microwave. But just a quick pan-frying of the vegetables on the stovetop with some tamari makes the soup taste like it’s been simmering all day.

I love serving this miso-mushroom ramen with a jammy egg for a little protein, but you could omit it for a fully vegan version. To get the full probiotic benefits of the fermented miso paste, make sure to stir it in once the mushroom broth has cooled slightly.

Whether you’re full grown or an adult-in-training, comfortable or broke, read on for the full recipe for this Miso-Mushroom Ramen. And if you’re the latter, I’ve included tips for my college posse for making it in the microwave!

If you’re looking to score big on the broth front, share your recreations with Pacific Foods on Facebook! They are running a Soup-Along sweepstakes all month long where you can win weekly soup-ready prizes and a grand prize featuring a high-quality stock pot. Enter by tagging your soup photos throughout the month with @PacificFoods or @pacificnaturalfoods on Instagram or Facebook, respectively, and use the hashtag #soupalong.

From one healthy hedonist, to another,

Xoxo

Phoebe

Miso Mushroom Ramen with Bok Choy (Gluten Free)

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Using pre-made mushroom broth and salty miso helps this gluten-free, vegetarian ramen recipe come together super-fast. It requires less than 15 minutes, one pot, and just a handful of ingredients. Also it is a much healthier alternative to the usual ramen bar pork bomb and much classier than anything made in a dorm room. At dinner time as a main course, I can put down half of this recipe by myself. But for a lighter meal, with a side or salad, this can stretch to feed four. You can of course always bulk it up by adding an extra packet of noodles.

Instructions

In a large Dutch oven, stockpot or saucepan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the shallots, garlic and mushrooms. Stir-fry until the mushrooms are soft, reduced in size, and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Pour in the tamari and scrape up any brown bits that may have formed on the bottom of the pan. Cook one minute more, then remove half of the mushrooms to a bowl and set aside.

Add the mushroom broth to the pot and bring to a simmer. Submerge the ramen in the liquid and cook, breaking the strands apart with your spatula, until the noodles are tender (about 3 minutes, or according to packaged directions).

Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool slightly before stirring in the miso. To preserve the good bacteria, it’s best to let the broth rest until it’s sip-able. Right before you’re ready to eat, whisk in the miso and sriracha until dissolved. Ladle the ramen and broth into bowls and garnish with the remaining mushrooms, bok choy, scallions, and hard-boiled eggs.

Recipe Notes

You can use any type of miso paste—white or red—but it’s something I try to find organic since soybeans are a big GMO crop. The kinds that pack a probiotic punch, like all good-quality fermented foods, can be found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket, usually in the same neighborhood as tofu and kimchi. If you’re allergic to soy, simply use chickpea miso.

For a perfect jammy egg, meaning the yolk is semi-soft and amber, see this how-to. I suggest getting your eggs boiled while you’re chopping/prepping ingredients for the ramen.

To make this recipe Whole30-friendly, substitute kelp noodles for the gluten-free ramen, coconut aminos for the soy sauce, and omit the miso. • Add a spoonful of kimchi to the finished bowl for extra heat and probiotic power.

To make in the microwave, follow packaged instructions for the noodles, using the mushroom broth instead of water. Once the ramen is tender, allow to cool slightly, then mix in the miso, tamari and sriracha. Serve with the raw mushrooms, bok choy and scallions as mix-ins.

If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe - I'd love to see it!

This vegetarian ramen recipe was created in partnership with my friends at Pacific Foods. Thanks as always for supporting the brands that make all my healthy adult Cup-o-Noodle meals possible!

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THERE

I’m Phoebe: gluten-free chef, culinary instructor, Hashimoto’s advocate, & author. I’m obsessed with the sweet spot where health and hedonism intersect, in the kitchen and beyond. And I want to help you find it too. READ MORE ABOUT PHOEBE